GENERAL GOALS

1. To get to know the school district and its people as fully as possible in a brief period of time, outside the daily context of crisis and problem solving;

2. To examine key issues in the school system’s past, in order to make sense of how such issues are handled and to identity the norms which effect how the organization may function in the future;

3. To identity the tasks which need to be done and to rank them in order of priority;

4. To establish how these tasks should be accomplished.

 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. To examine the ground rules and procedures which have governed how the Board of Education has conducted business in the past;

2. To develop with the Board a set of ground rules and procedures which will govern how we operate in the future;

3. To determine the issues on which the Board believes we should concentrate in the next year and then ask the Board to rank these in priority order;

4. To develop charts of the predictable tasks on which the Administration and the Board will work in the next year. The chart will not only list what has to be done but also describe how it is to be done.
 

ACTIVITIES

Phase I (7/2 - 9/30)

1. Send "Superintendents’ Entry Plan" to Board members 7/2

2. A two hour interview with each Board member (This will include a questionnaire on Board procedures and ground rules and interview questions see Attachments A & B) 7/9 - 8/31

3. Two meetings with the Board President to begin development of a chart of predictable tasks and discuss the role of the Board President and Superintendent 7/9 - 8/31

4. Collation, interpretation, organization of information from interviews and questionnaire for presentation 8/1 - 9/14

5. Board of Education Work Session to present information 9/17 - 9/28

PHASE II (9/4 - 11/30)

1. Regular meetings with Board President re: implementation of plans

2. Presentation of results from Work Session into written form 10/10

3. Budget workshop - review of chart of budget development: who does

what, when, how, in relation to whom 11/14

PHASE III (1 2/1 - 6/30)

1 Continued regularly meetings with Board President

2. Progress Review Work Session - review results of September Work Session and progress to date 1/9

3. End-of-Year Review 6/12
 

Attachment "A"

QUESTIONNAIRE ON SCHOOL BOARD PROCEDURES AND GROUND

Agenda Setting and Timing

1. In general, how do agendas for board meetings get set? How do you as a board member get an item of concern to you on the agenda for a particular meeting?

2. Rate the items on the agenda, on a scale of 1 – 5 with 1 as highest, etc., with respect to their being:

YES SOMETIMES NO

1   2   3   4   5

the appropriate ones too many too few           1 2 3 4 5

too many                                                          1 2 3 4 5

too few                                                             1 2 3 4 5

3. Generally, how far in advance of a meeting do you receive the board packet? In what ways are the background materials you receive adequate or inadequate in preparing you for the board discussion?

Board Efficiency

4. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 as high and 5 as low, how efficient do you think the board is in:

following up on issues raised in discussion         1 2 3 4 5

the length of meetings                                          1 2 3 4 5

the frequency of meetings                                    1 2 3 4 5

apportioning its time among agenda items           1 2 3 4 5

 

Board Confidentiality

5. On a scale of 1 - 5, with 1 as high and 5 as low, how successful has the board been in maintaining the confidentiality of discussions in executive sessions?

1 2 3 4 5

Role of Board President (Chairman)

6. Rate the importance of each of the following tasks in the president’s (chairman’s) role:

inform members on issues prior to meetings                  1 2 3 4 5

meeting and conferring regularly with Superintendent   1 2 3 4 5

handling public relations                                                1 2 3 4 5

running the meetings                                                      1 2 3 4 5

explaining the background of an issue                           1 2 3 4 5

clarifying the issue                                                         1 2 3 4 5

insuring that everyone gets heard                                 1 2 3 4 5

closing off discussion                                                    1 2 3 4 5

handling the public                                                        1 2 3 4 5

Board Communication with the School System

7. Are you as a board member aware of established procedures for obtaining or exchanging information with:

- the Superintendent

- the Principal

- Staff

If you answer "Yes", please explain.

8. You hear from your child (or neighbor) that a school bus had an accident on the way home. What do you do? Whom do you call?

9. At a party you are informed by an angry parent that a fourth grade teacher publicly embarrasses children by talking about their failures in front of the whole class. Whom do you call?

10. You feel that you need information on the reading test scores on 8th
graders going into 9th grade. What do you do? Whom do you call?

 

Attachment "B’

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Please give me a brief autobiographical sketch of yourself?

2. When did you first join the Board? What are your general impressions of

the school? Have your perceptions changed since you joined the Board?

3. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of the Administrative staff? of the teaching staff?

4. What are the key issues which you think the system must face? Why is each important? Which issues need immediate attention? Can you rank these issues in priority order?

5. What network of people in the school or the community try to influence school issues? What do the members of each network share in common? Neighborhood? Blood relationship? Jobs? Concern for issues? Concern for students?

6. Describe a moment when the school system was in great conflict. How did the conflict arise? What people played roles in it, and how did they react under pressure? How was the stress resolved? How should it have been handled and resolved?

7. Describe a very difficult decision you had to make. What was the issue? Why was it important? How did you reach a decision? What did others think? What would you do differently now?

8. What do you most want to preserve in the (Name) Central District?

9. What leadership has the Superintendent provided to the schools in the past? What do you wish he would provide in the future?

10. As you think about how the Board operates as a group, what frustrates you?

 

SUPERINTENDENTS’ ENTRY PLAN

II. DISTRICT OFFICE STAFF SECTION

GENERAL GOALS

1. To get to know the school district and its people as fully as possible in a brief period of time, outside the daily context of crisis and problem solving;

2. To examine key issues in the school system’s past, in order to make sense of how such issues are handled and to identify the norms which effect how the organization may function in the future;

3. To identify the tasks which need to be done and to rank them in order of priority;

4. To establish how these tasks should be accomplished.

 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the issues which the District Office staff face in their work this school year;

2. To determine the norms, procedures, and processes which govern how each of the tasks of the District Office is accomplished;

3. To develop work plans for the predictable tasks which District Office staff will undertake this school year. The work plan will describe not only what has to be done but how - the steps in the process, the time-frame, the role responsibility;

4. To clarify the role responsibilities of each member of the District Office.

* District Office Staff includes: Principals, Secretary to the Superintendent/District Clerk, Treasurer, Internal Auditor/Tax Collector, Custodial Supervisor, Transportation Supervisor, (ALL others deemed appropriate)

 

ACTIVITIES

Phase I (7/2 - 7/20)

1. District Office staff meeting with Superintendent 7/2

2. Interviews with each member of the District Office staff 7/5 - 7/20

3. Collation, interpretation, organization of data from interviews

7/20 - 7/27

4. Briefing sessions for me conducted with appropriate District Office
members on the following topics:     staffing Board agenda, personnel, curriculum development, special education, budget development, transportation, maintenance, purchasing, finance, food service, athletics                     7/9 - 7/20

5. Development of work plan by District Office staff for each predictable task

7/20 - 8/17

6. Meeting of District Office staff to review all work plans      8/20 - 8/24

7. Series of meetings with District Office individuals to reaffirm and/or change role responsibility.

7/30 - 8/10

Phase II (9/4 - 6/30)

Meetings with District Office staff to:
- review progress on work plan,
- monitor effectiveness of role responsibility decisions

 

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Please give me a brief autobiographical sketch of yourself?

2. Which District Office tasks are your responsibility alone? Which tasks do you share with others on the District Office staff? How does the overlapping of responsibilities occur? Are there areas where role responsibility is unclear?

3. What is the key issue for your work in the school system? Why is it important? Does it need immediate attention?

4. What is the school system’s key issue - it might be different from your own - in the next few months? What should I know about this issue? When should it be resolved?

5. What network of people in the schools or the community try to influence school issues? What do the members of each network share in common? Neighborhood? Blood relationship? Jobs? Concern for issues? Concern for Students?

6. Describe a moment when the school system was in great conflict. How did the conflict arise? What people played roles in it, and how did they react under pressure? How was the stress resolved? How should it have been handled and resolved?

7. Describe a very difficult decision you had to make. What was the issue? Why was it important? How did you reach a decision? What did others think? What would you do differently now?

8. What do you most want to preserve in the (name) Central School?

9. What leadership has the Superintendent provided to the schools in the past? What do you wish he would provide in the future?

 

BRIEFING FORMAT

1. Please tell me as succinctly as possible the status of this area of responsibility. What has been accomplished in preparation for the next school year? What remains to be done?

2. Please tell me as specifically as possible how tasks are accomplished in this area of responsibility. What steps are in each process?

3. What needs to be considered for the future?

 

SUPERINTENDENTS’ ENTRY PLAN

III. TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION and
TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION
(ALL Union and Non-Union Groups)

GENERAL GOALS

1. To get to know the school district and its people as fully as possible in a brief period of time, outside the daily context of crisis and problem solving;

2. To examine key issues in the school system’s past, in order to make sense of how such issues are handled and to identify the norms which effect how the organization may function in the future;

3. To identify the tasks which need to be done and to rank them in order of priority;

4. To establish how these tasks should be accomplished.

ACTIVITIES

1. Interviews with members of the Association Leadership 9/4- 9/10

2. Collation, interpretation, organization of data 9/10 -9/14
 

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Please give me a brief autobiographical sketch of yourself?

2. When did you first come to the school system? What have been your responsibilities in it? What are your general impressions of the school system?

3. What are the key issues which the system must face? What are (teachers) (drivers) concerns? Why is each important? Which issues need immediate attention? Can you rank these issues in priority order?

4. Describe the history of Association-Administration-School Board relationships in this community. What conflicts have arisen in your experience? How have they been resolved?

5. What has been the nature of your contact with the Superintendent? How would you like to see it changed? How should it remain the same?

6. What in the latest contract is important for me to know? What issues are unresolved?

7. What has administrative leadership provided to the district in the past? What do you wish it would provide in the future?

8. To what extent has the formal grievance procedure in the contract been used in the past? Why? Or why not?

SUPERINTENDENTS’ ENTRY PLAN

IV. STAFF SECTION

STAFF CONTACTS

ACTIVITIES

1. Letter to staff    8/15

2. Opening Address to Faculty and Staff    9/4

3. Follow-up letter re: Entry Plan    9/17

4. Regular, short informal walks through hallway    9/5 - 6/30

5. Brief interview with all school staff members not previously contacted    9/4 -10/5

6. Attendance at some Faculty meetings 9/4 - 6/30

7. Attendance at concerts, sports events plays and other events throughout the year     9/4 - 6/30

 

SUPERINTENDENTS’ ENTRY PLAN

V. COMMUNITY SECTION

COMMUNITY CONTACTS

ACTIVITIES

A. Parent Teachers Student Association

1. Meeting with Executive Committee of PTSA    9/5 -9/14

2. Attendance at some PTSA meetings  9/5 - 6/30

3. Attendance at some PTSA sponsored functions 9/5 - 6/30

B. Government Officials

1. Meet:

- Area Legislators
- Village officials
- Town officials
- Law enforcement officials
- Fire department officials

C. Community Organizations

Churches
Service Clubs
Media Representatives
Others as identified